Demolition begins on Conoco building

Railroad negotiations delay Walgreens arrival, developer says

MOSES LAKE — After several delays and extensions, the latest movement came Monday on the site of a future business.

"This is the infamous Walgreens site," said Gilbert Alvarado, community development planner for the City of Moses Lake.

Demolition began on the former Lakeside Conoco Monday.

The gas station ceased business in August 2005, after Walgreens purchased the property and got the go-ahead from Moses Lake City Council to begin construction in January 2004.

Alvarado said the building permit for the property expired, prompting the developer, the S.E. Grainger Development Group, to request the city council to extend the life of that permit.

"As part of that discussion, the council was also asking when the demolition of the buildings would continue," Alvarado said.

At the time, the development group demolished the Standard Battery site, and returned to demolish the gas station.

Alvarado said the extension for the building permit expires the first week of December. If the developer does not begin construction and requests an inspection, he said, the company has to ask the city council for another extension.

Developer Scott Grainger attributed delays on the project to continued efforts to finalize acquisition of property from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. Walgreens remains committed to the site, he added.

Calling the demolition an attempt to clean up the property and remove a vacant building, Grainger said the anticipated date to close negotiations with the railroad by the end of the year may continue to slide.

"It's Burlington Northern, and they kind of move at their pace," he said.

Grainger said the permit is valid through the middle of December. He anticipates beginning construction on the project by then, or again petitioning the council for an additional extension, he confirmed.

Grainger said he's received a number of phone calls over the last 18 months from people anxious to see the store open and curious about the status of the property. He is appreciative of the city council and staff, he said, and how they have handled the project.

"I really appreciate the city's ability to work through this project, which has been very difficult with the railroad," he said. "I'm very impressed with the City of Moses Lake."

Alvarado said Grainger is showing the council a good-faith effort that he's moving forward with the project, and because he may need to request an additional extension of 180 days for the permit in December.

The majority of calls directed to Alvarado and city staff about development on the project have been complaints, a fact he explained to Grainger.

"We have from the development community and some of the downtown businesses who through certain channels have contacted myself and staff that it's kind of an eyesore," he said. "It's kind of blighted, there's weeds, there's stuff everywhere."

Construction fencing around the site has caused a problem for Alvarado and his department because it tends to attract special event signs.

"If you noticed this summer, it kind of became a billboard," he said. "The owner's aware of that, and part of his contract with the contractor who's demolishing the building was that the site will be leveled and it will be cleaned."

Alvarado expects demolition to be completed this week.